A limited-time ferris wheel has opened in New York City’s Times Square, giving tourists and residents a new view of the city. The pop-up 110-foot-tall, 11-story ride is open from August 25 to September 12. The Times Square Wheel will be located just west of Duffy Square on Broadway between West 47th and West 48th Streets. It will be open for 12-minute rides between noon and midnight every day, and up to six people to ride in each gondola.
Vito Bruno, who heads AMPM Entertainment Concepts in Brooklyn that’s behind the project, is financially backing the Ferris Wheel. He first approached the Times Square Alliance several months ago and was met with enthusiasm, despite all the permits and inspections. The wheel is owned by amusement ride company Ray Cammack Shows and has been used at Coachella and the Final Four. According to the Times Square Wheel’s website, “The Times Square Wheel is a once in a lifetime experience … that will showcase the crossroads of the world as never seen before. Experience sensory overload by billions of pixels as you soar 110 feet through a canyon of spectacular billboards.”
“This is the time for bold ideas to celebrate our great city!” said Tom Harris, the president of the Times Square Alliance. “A Ferris Wheel in Times Square will bring New York City an incredible new way to enjoy Times Square from a completely new vantage point as we navigate these times and reflect on all we have been through this past year. Come see Times Square like you have never seen it before.”
The hope is that the wheel will give Times Square a boost while area businesses and restaurants wait for Broadway shows to reopen in September. According to the Times Square Alliance, foot traffic is nearly two-thirds of what it was pre-pandemic. The hope is that the wheel will give Times Square a larger boost in anticipation of the reopening of Broadway in September.
The Ferris Wheel is part of a larger initiative to promote Times Square this year as a family-friendly destination. Other events have included free Jazz concerts on Thursday evenings, Broadway Buskers on Fridays and the live taping of the children’s show “Wonderama” in Duffy Square in July.
Tickets are available at timessquarewheel.nyc — $20 for adults, $15 for kids and $35 for those who want to skip the line. Times Square lost its only Ferris wheel, towering at 65 feet tall, in 2015 with the closure of the Toys R Us store in the Bow Tie building on Broadway between West 44th and West 45th Streets.
And New Yorkers are still awaiting the completion of a Ferris wheel in Staten Island near St. George‘s ferry terminal, which was halted for a few years but might be receiving new life.
Next, check out NYC’s Lost Amusement Parks!